Bellingham, Whatcom County Grapple with Plummeting Tourism

The city of Bellingham is just one of the many victims of the political turmoil roiling the United States right now. Dylan Deane-Boyle is on the front lines of it.

Deane-Boyle has served as president and CEO of Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism for more than two years. He watched with apprehension as President Trump first talked of annexing Canada, and then announced steep tariffs on most countries around the world, including Canada.

In February alone, personal vehicle traffic from British Columbia to the U.S. for tourism-related purposes was down more than 30% compared to the same month last year, according to Statistics Canada. Hotel occupancy was down about 17% in February.

Deane-Boyle notes that the exchange rate also contributes to the drop in tourism. One Canadian dollar equals about 72 cents of a U.S. dollar, meaning that if you’re converting money from Canadian to U.S., you’ll get fewer U.S. dollars.

In 2023, tourism contributed more than $750 million to the Whatcom County economy.

https://seattlemag.com/travel/bellingham-whatcom-county-grapple-with-plummeting-tourism/